The Doing is the Learning: Opportunities to Respond with Karina Stocker

Opportunities to Respond (OTRs) are often talked about as a way to increase student engagement, but their impact goes much further than simply keeping students involved.In this episode of Behavioural Deep Dive, I’m joined by Karina Stocker to explore how Opportunities to Respond create the practice opportunities students need to acquire and strengthen both academic and behavioural skills.We unpack why “the doing is the learning” and explore what effective OTRs actually look like in the classroom. Karina discusses why both the quantity and quality of opportunities matter, how educators can combine group and individual responding, and how prompting and fading can be used to differentiate instruction and support successful learning. We also dive into:Creating clear classroom routines for respondingCold calling, student anxiety and building a history of successful participationWhat effective error correction should look likeAcquisition, fluency and generalisationWhy inconsistent performance may indicate a student still needs teaching and practiceUsing OTRs as ongoing formative assessmentPractical ways teachers can monitor and improve their use of OTRs A central message from the conversation is that OTRs aren't simply about asking more questions. Every well-designed opportunity gives students a chance to practise while simultaneously giving educators valuable information about whether their instruction is working and what needs to happen next. If you're a teacher, school leader, behaviour practitioner or anyone interested in evidence-based instruction, this episode is packed with practical ideas you can take directly into classrooms.Show notes and resourcesListen on YouTubeIf you enjoyed the episode, please follow, rate, or leave a comment. It's always great to hear your feedback on the podcast, what resonated with you, and what you'd like to hear more about in future episodes.